Participating

A "participating" committee refers to a technical committee in which Canada participates actively, and in which Canada has an obligation to vote on all submitted questions.

Observing

When a committee has "observing" status, it means that Canada follows the work of the committee as an observer and cannot make any comments about the development process or vote on any of the submitted questions.

Standby

Committees that are in "standby" status have no work item in progress, nor foreseen for the future, but are required to continually review the standards for which they are responsible. 

Normally after a position is posted it takes up to three weeks for candidates selected for an interview to be advised. We appreciate the interest of all candidates, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Identify which position you are applying for and provide specific examples of how your background meets the position’s education, experience and language requirements.

When you apply on-line for a position, you will receive an automatic confirmation. Your application will remain on file in our database and will be considered for the specific position for which you have applied. If, in the future, your profile matches the requirements of a different posting, you may be notified of the match and will be invited to apply for the position.

SCC-accredited SDOs are fully expected to continue their long-standing coordination practice to avoid duplication within the Canadian standards development environment and to promote opportunities for harmonization wherever possible.

The Requirements & Guidance – Accreditation of Standards Development Organizations directly address possible duplication of standards in the system (Clause 4.3, Avoiding Duplication):

“SDOs shall make every effort to address the need of the Canadian stakeholder(s) and to not duplicate or overlap with the work of other SDOs, or relevant international or regional SDOs.”

The Duplication Resolution Mechanism was updated as part of the 2017 revision of the Requirements & Guidance – Accreditation of Standards Development Organizations with the goal of reaching a timely outcome and a decision that is responsive to Canadian stakeholder needs. These updates include a more proactive role for SCC to facilitate discussions between SDOs, the introduction of specific evaluation criteria, a clearer complaint and appeal process, and a compliance and verification process with Action Plan (issued following SCC decision on duplication).

SCC’s role is to support the standardization priorities of government and industry in Canada, and, as such, welcome comments and suggestions by stakeholders on approaches to avoid duplication of efforts.

No it does not. The standards from these organizations do not necessarily meet the SCC Requirements & Guidance for Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). SDOs can bring their standards under SCC oversight as National Standards of Canada (NSCs) after they ensure SCC’s requirements have been met.

For the purposes of the Standards Council's Member Program, you are a member if you are not an employee of the Standards Council, but find yourself doing most or all of the following:

• undertaking tasks or responsibilities on behalf of the Standards Council;
• taking part in policy committees, technical committees, sub-committees or task, working or ad-hoc groups of these committees; or assessments as part of an accreditation program;
• offering your time, skills, knowledge and energy to advance the objectives of the Standards Council;
• representing Canada in regional or international standardization forums;
• working on behalf of your organization or stakeholder group in partnership with the Standards Council and the National Standards System; or
• doing all of this because of your background or expertise in a particular subject area.

Members are expected to demonstrate:

• active participation, commitment, willingness to undertake committee work, and prepare required reports and meeting documents;
• ability and willingness to meet and respect deadlines, and follow SCC procedures, directives and terms of reference;
• ability to travel and attend meetings nationally/internationally;
• commitment to participate in committee work electronically and in-person;
• sufficient time, resources, and financial support to actively participate on committees;
• representation of stakeholder groups and views;
• ability to work within a group environment; and
• the knowledge and technical expertise related to the committee or group.

Candidates wishing to apply for a volunteer position are required to be either a Canadian citizen or resident of Canada, or working for a Canadian organization. 

You will receive an automatic confirmation after submitting your application online. Your application will remain on file and will be considered for the specific position for which you have applied.

SCC represents Canada in key regional and international standardization forums, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). SCC offers technical support and advice to Canadian government and industry on trade issues related to standardization.

SCC recruits business experts, scientists, engineers, technologists and standardization professionals to sit on key ISO and IEC technical committees. These experts inject a Canadian perspective into international standards. Their participation is key to promoting trade, stimulating our economy, and protecting the health and safety of citizens here in Canada, and around the world. 

If you are interested in getting involved in standardization  join one of our committees.

SCC protects the integrity of ISO and IEC standards in Canada and prevents their unauthorized reproduction. A business or organization who wants to share a standard with its employees or reproduce the standard, in whole or in part, or a student who wants to reproduce part of a standard for their thesis may request permission from SCC.

For information on reproducing or sharing ISO or IEC standards, visit Buy Standards. For any other standard, we recommend that you contact the relevant standards developer directly.

Academic Institutions

SCC provides a valuable service to eligible academic institutions in Canada by offering access to ISO and IEC standards through its Standards in Education program. Direct, easy access to ISO and IEC standards helps students gain a better understanding of the standardization process, produce higher quality academic work and be better qualified to enter the workforce.

Visit the Standards in Education program for more information.

Non Academic Institutions

Any purchased standard will need permission in order to reproduce or copy.

It is possible to make ONE printed copy of a PDF standard with purchase of a PDF standard.

Additional hard copies beyond the one hard copy one is entitled to upon purchase, permission must be received from SCC and a royalty fee paid. 

If you wish to post the electronic version of the standard on a company's intranet, you will need to obtain permission from SCC and pay a royalty fee.  The fee depends on a number of factors such as; the number of people who will have access to the standard, the number of addresses (offices) where the standard will be available, and which standards you wish to post

In order to receive permission to reproduce or copy a standard, contact csd@scc.ca.

For information on how to purchase standards, visit Buy Standards.

SCC’s search function can help you identify the standards you need. SCC’s databases include information on standards and standards-related documents from Canada, Britain, France, Australia, Germany, ISO, the IEC and other standards bodies around the world.

Valid

An ORD with a status of Valid has been recognized by a Canadian regulatory authority body and has been provided to SCC for inclusion in the ORD database.

Expired

An ORD with a status of Expired has exceeded its five-year validity period. All certifications issued to this document while it was valid are still acceptable. No new certifications to this document shall be granted.

Withdrawn

An ORD with a status of Withdrawn has been rescinded by its authoring organization. No new certifications to this document shall be granted.

A standard may be withdrawn if it:

• is not technically up-to-date
• does not reflect current practice or research
• is not suitable for new and existing applications (products, systems or processes)
• is not compatible with current views and expectations regarding quality, safety and the environment

This status is also used if:

• the standard is withdrawn and not replaced by the author for any of the reasons mentioned above
• there has been a change in the standard designation (e.g. if CSA A1234-2000 is superseded by CSA B5678-2005)

Superseded

An ORD with a status of Superseded has been replaced by another document. No new certifications to this document shall be granted.

Notes:

An ORD with a status of Valid will automatically change to Expired once the expiry date has passed.

When an ORD status indicates Superseded, you will find the details on the new document in the “Superseded By” field.

In the broadest sense, a standard is anything that tells you how to do, test or identify something. For example, a recipe for spaghetti sauce is a standard. However, standards in government or business most often refer to a particular type of standard: a document developed by a committee of interested experts and published by a recognized standards body that provides independent and widely accepted guidance.

For more information, visit SCC’s orientation module Introduction to Standards and the Standards Council of Canada. 

All Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) adhere to the same SCC standards development, or adoption, requirements. As part of these requirements, SDOs must include technical experts and stakeholders who will be affected by the standard in their technical committees when developing standards. As a result, any SDO can develop a standard in any area.

SCC accredited SDOs are expected to coordinate their work to avoid duplication within the Canadian standards development environment and to promote opportunities for harmonization wherever possible. 

The accreditation requirements outlined in Requirements & Guidance – Accreditation of Standards Development Organizations directly address possible duplication of standards in the system (consult Section 4, Requirement 4.3, Avoiding Duplication), and were clarified and strengthened by including statements such as:

“The SDO accreditation requirements are in line with accepted international standards best practices derived from the World Trade Organization, Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO/TBT), Annex 3 provisions, ISO/IEC Guide 59 Code of good practice for standardization, and the following Canadian principles: consensus; equal access and effective participation by concerned interests; respect for diverse interests and identification of those who should be afforded access to provide the needed balance of interests; mechanism for dispute resolution; openness and transparency; open access by interested parties to the procedures guiding the standards development process; clarity with respect to the processes; Canadian interest consideration as the basis for the development of standards by SDOs; and avoiding duplication of standards or overlap with the work of other SDOs or with the work of relevant international or regional SDOs.” (Page 4)

SCC’s role is to support the standardization priorities of government and industry in Canada. As such, we welcome comments and suggestions by industry on approaches to avoid duplication of efforts and on our role in managing subject area recognition. Visit our Contact Us page to provide comments.

SCC does not develop standards or verify the conformity of products or services to standards but rather accredits the organizations that do. To find a certification body, visit the appropriate accreditation program on our website. 

In principle, the vast majority of Canadian and international standards are voluntary.

In practice, the demands of the marketplace make many standards mandatory. A bolt manufacturer whose products do not fit a standard nut, for example, will probably not have many customers.

Buyers who want to assess whether their suppliers provide goods that conform to standards have a number of options. They may take supplier’s word for it. They may check the products themselves. They may also insist that the supplier ask an independent third party to verify the products conformity. These third parties often indicate conformity by putting their own label, or mark, on the product.

Government regulators make a standard mandatory by referring to it in legislation. Provincial and territorial electrical codes, for example, require electrical products to conform to Canadian electrical safety standards. Under these regulations, products cannot be sold unless they have been tested and certified by a recognized conformity assessment body.

One way of recognizing conformity assessment bodies is through accreditation. SCC is Canada’s national accreditation body for organizations that provide standards-related conformity assessment services.

For more information visit SCC’s orientation module, Accreditation: Where Standards, quality and conformity meet about the value and importance of accreditation. SCC also has a searchable directory of accredited certification bodies. 

SCC offers 10 accreditation programs including testing laboratories, certification of products and electrical inspections. Details about each program can be found in SCC’s Accreditation Program Overview. 

Certificates are issued independently of ISO certification bodies, and there is no central database of all these certifications. If you know which certification body delivered the certification, you can contact them directly.

Information on Canadian import regulations is available from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Information on requirements that apply to imported products (such as whether they need to be certified as meeting particular standards) can be obtained from government organizations that administer these requirements. To search for the relevant mandatory requirements that apply to your product, refer to the database on the Canadian Legal Information website.

The Consumer Product Safety Directorate at Health Canada assists in the protection of Canadians by researching, assessing and collaborating in the management of the health risks and safety hazards of consumer products. 

SCC is an accreditation body. It accredits certification bodies that can certify your organization to ISO 9001, for example. All SCC-accredited certification bodies are listed on SCC’s Directory of Accredited Certification Bodies as well as testing and calibration laboratories (including those recognized under the OECD Good Laboratory Practices).

To find a product, process or service certification body with specific capabilities, please search our directory with a product category, the International Classification for Standards (ICS) code or standard.

The Standards Council of Canada’s (SCC) Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program provides formal recognition of competence for laboratories carrying out environmental tests, and enables laboratories to better meet their obligations to regulators. Approximately 120 parameters can be accredited within the following environmental fields of testing:

• Inorganics - water and soil
• Microbiology - water
• Occupational health - air filters
• Organics - water and soil
• PCB - oil
• Toxicology - water
• Other

SCC also offers accreditation to laboratories conducting drinking water testing under the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. Under the terms of its agreement with the Ontario provincial government, SCC assesses the ability of laboratories to perform drinking water tests, and is solely responsible for approval of their accreditation.

Any question or variation in a certification mark should be raised with the issuing body. Certificates issued by a certification body typically include an identifying logo of an accreditation body on them. Using the name on the logo, you can check the accreditation body’s website for a directory of accredited certification bodies. Contact the certification body that issued the certificate to verify its validity.

Certification bodies accredited by SCC are listed in SCC’s Directory of Accredited Certification Bodies, however it does not contain information on certificates issued by the certification bodies.

To further investigate provincial and territorial requirements related to conformance of products, you may search for provincial regulations on the Canadian Legal Information Institute website.

For products covered under the categories of building, plumbing or fire, the provincial or territorial authorities require a product certification mark.

This program specialty area (PSA) applies to the accreditation of laboratories conducting tests and measurements on threaded fasteners and providing services that support fastener production, such as plating, producers of material destined for fastener manufacture, and commercial laboratories offering testing services. Testing conducted in the fasteners PSA is divided into five major areas:

• Chemical analysis
• Mechanical and physical testing and inspection
• Non-destructive inspection
• Dimensional inspection
• Metallography

Any complaints with an accredited organization must be submitted in writing to that organization. If it is not handled to the satisfaction of the complainant, it can be raised with SCC. SCC will review the accredited organization’s handling of the complaint from a process perspective. Please note that SCC can only deal with complaints regarding the requirements (standards) to which the organization is accredited, and not in matters such as invoicing and compensation.

Information on Canadian occupation health and safety (e.g. safety of machinery and personal protective equipment) can be obtained from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

You can also search for specific topics covered by federal, provincial or territorial legislation on the Canadian Legal Information Institute website.

The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) offers accreditation to laboratories that undertake forensic testing. One of the key activities forensic laboratories undertake is the testing of physical evidence often at a crime scene or the scene of an accident. In addition to testing the evidence and issuing reports, forensic scientists frequently provide testimony on the test results for judicial applications. To ensure that this evidence stands up to scrutiny in court, it is imperative that the testing methods used by the laboratory have proven and documented credibility. Accreditation provides assurance that a forensic laboratory has adhered to recognized practices and standards. Forensic accreditation is one of 10 SCC Accreditation Program Specialty Areas. SCC offers accreditation in the following forensic disciplines:

• Biology/DNA analysis
• Chemistry/Trace analysis
• Counterfeits
• Drug chemistry
• Equine drug testing
• Explosives
• Firearms and tool marks
• Questioned documents examination
• Toxicology

The sale of uncertified electrical equipment may be unlawful, depending on the type of equipment and the jurisdiction it is being sold within. The regulator for the region will have more information on what the restrictions are and how to report attempts to sell unapproved equipment. Contact the Safety Authority Branch in your province (e.g., Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario) or, if the product is a consumer product, please contact the Consumer Product Safety Act Directorate.

If you plan to manufacture or import products that you think may be classified as toxic substances, we suggest that you review the following informational sources provided by Environment Canada under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA):

• CEPA 1999—overview of the CEPA with guidance documents

The National Fire Code of Canada (NFC) is adopted as the minimum standard for the fire safe operation of buildings and facilities. The NFC is adopted by Canadian provinces and territories with or without modifications. For information on how the national model codes (building, fire and plumbing) are adopted in the various provinces and territories across Canada, visit the Canadian Codes Centre on the National Research Council Canada website.

The NFC establishes provisions to address the following three core objectives:

• safety
• health
• fire protection of buildings and facilities

For technical questions on code requirements, contact the Canadian provincial or territorial enforcing regulatory body or bodies, which can be found on the Code Authorities in Canada web page on the UL website. 

Electrical safety falls under the responsibility of provincial and territorial authorities. Provincially recognized certification marks confirm compliance of products that have an electrical component to the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) CAN/CSA C22.1 published by the CSA Group.

Certification marks are issued by SCC-accredited product certification bodies. Any certification mark originating from an SCC-accredited US-based certification body needs a small "c" in front of the mark to indicate to the user, inspector and retailer that, even though the mark is from the United States, the assessment of the product has complied with the CEC. To obtain the listing of provincial and territorial recognized electrical safety certification marks, contact your provincial or territorial electrical safety authority, which can be found on the Code Authorities in Canada web page on the UL website.

SCC supports Canadians and Canadian businesses in a number of ways, most notably by overseeing and coordinating the work of Canada's standardization network. Standards can support Canadian innovation by spreading technological knowledge and increasing market acceptance of new or innovative products.

SCC can help your business get involved in international standards development as a way to assert Canadian influence in the global marketplace and embed Canadian innovation, technology, products and services into the standards setting process internationally. In doing so, SCC can also help your business access new markets, reduce cost/increase revenue, gain a competitive advantage globally and manage business risk.

For information about how standardization can help your business, visit Information for Business and Industry.

In Canada, information on importing and exporting can be obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Information on requirements that apply to imported products (such as whether they need to be certified as meeting particular standards) can be obtained from government organizations that administer these requirements. To search for the relevant mandatory requirements that apply to your product, refer to the database on the Canadian Legal Information website.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is dedicated to safeguarding food, animals and plants, which enhances the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment and economy. CBSA is responsible for the initial import inspection of food, agricultural inputs and agricultural products. The CFIA sets the policies and regulations for these importations and they are enforced by CBSA at Canadian entry points. As required, shipments are referred to the CFIA for follow-up action. A CFIA veterinarian inspects most importations of live animals on entry.

In Canada, information on importing and exporting can be obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency.

Information on requirements that apply to imported products (such as whether they need to be certified as meeting particular standards) can be obtained from government organizations that administer these requirements. To search for the relevant mandatory requirements that apply to your product, refer to the database on the Canadian Legal Information website.

As Canada’s standardization leader, SCC provides accreditation programs for laboratories, inspection bodies, product and personnel certifiers, and management systems certification bodies. Our accredited bodies will provide testing and certification services for organizations operating in a wide variety of industry sectors.

However, SCC does not have regulatory authority in its mandate. Any mandatory standards or specifications and related conformity assessment requirements need to be reviewed with the proper federal, provincial or territorial regulatory authority.

For technical questions on code requirements, we suggest contacting the Canadian provincial or territorial enforcing regulatory body or bodies, which can be found on the Code Authorities in Canada web page on the UL website.

An anti-bribery management system can help organizations prevent, detect and address bribery. It helps to reduce the risk of bribery occurring and can demonstrate to clients and stakeholders that an organization has put in place internationally recognized good-practice anti-bribery controls.

A quality management system defines and establishes an organization’s quality policy, objectives and procedures. Quality management system standards do not provide specific quality indicators or describe ways of achieving them, since these will be different in every situation. Instead, they provide generic frameworks and general principles that can be applied to any organization, of any size, in any industry.

The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accredits certification bodies that assess and certify quality management systems to the international standard ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems.

View expected Outcomes for Accredited Certification to ISO 9001 

An environmental management system verifies the impact of an organization’s activities on the environment. Such systems help organizations to establish environmental goals and targets, and to evaluate how well they are being achieved.

The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accredits certification bodies that assess and certify environmental management systems to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems standard.

View expected outcomes for accredited certification to ISO 14001

Forensic accreditation is one of 10 SCC Accreditation Program Specialty Areas. SCC offers accreditation in the following forensic disciplines:

• Biology/DNA analysis
• Chemistry/Trace analysis
• Counterfeits
• Drug chemistry
• Equine drug testing
• Explosives
• Firearms and tool marks
• Questioned documents examination
• Toxicology

This accreditation program provides formal recognition of competence of laboratories providing testing services that include, but are not limited to:

• Allergens analysis
• Organic and inorganic chemistry analysis
• Plant protection: bacterial, fungal, viral, viroid, and nematode, presence of disease and seeds analysis
• Qualitative and quantitative microbiological analysis
• Veterinary analysis for animal health testing   

SCC provides formal recognition of competence for laboratories calibrating measuring instruments and reference standards for areas of metrology, including:

• Acoustics and vibration
• Dimensional
• Electrical
• Frequency and time
• Ionizing radiation
• Mechanical
• Photometric and radiometric
• Temperature
• Other